


Like Land Split By Sea

by Meteor8te



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-13 00:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9097351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meteor8te/pseuds/Meteor8te
Summary: The Signless attempts to gain the attention of a disinterest crowd at the beginning of his sermons, will the light of his words shine through? Either way, it turns out pen is not mightier than the sword in Alternian culture and a little unexpected hand of force might be the lighthouse he seeks to see him through.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The Homestuck Ancestors are a very broad subject considering their backstories. We only know how some of them died and how some events played out. How this came to be is to the readers imaginations. This is my perspective on the unfolding events on the Ancestor Timeline. 
> 
> This is my first story I’ve ever written so please don't judge too much. The was actually meant to be a song‘’drabble’’ request on tumblr about ''The Pretender - Foo Fighters''. Instead I’ve written two thousand five hundred fucking words and decided to turn it into a story. What am I doing with my life? It’s time to stop. I’ve worked eleven continuous hours on this and I don’t know why. Anyway, this is Chapter one. I have no idea when Chapter two will be here or the rest. 
> 
> Feel free to come on the angst train with me and maybe even come to favor the headcanons I have!

Come night, her weariness triumphed the battle to sleep. A day tomorrow was one only familiar as many before; quarter past eight she’d awake, rub her groggy eyes, take a swill of rum to bring a sweet start to the morning and see the numbers of assigned crew and cargo were accurate to be carried to sell her loot.

The markets of Alternia would then be filled to the brink and home to all bloods. Many rust and bronze would be in competition with their goods. While the nobler bloods would be browsing and supplying one of the only income the lowers might receive this month.

It was mostly grown food, handmade jewelry at most. Anything to ensure their survival, but times were hard for the lower-castes who abided under the harsh dictatorship of the Empress; many were living day to day, not really planning for a future.

Of course, once the temporarily rented stalls were filled, many would make tents from thick branches and blankets, cramming themselves up beside others in a claustrophobic mess. It was clear that the day would be filled with yelling, coaxing people into their boutiques. It was a blurry mess. One had to have their eye set on looking for something specific or face being lost in the amount of bellowing or end up buying a bunch of useless things.

While the large hoard of people would increase maximum goods being sold off, there were law enforcement polluting the area. Well aware it was peak time for criminal activity to commence. The last she needed was meddling guards going through her hoard of stolen loot. It was only suitable to find a place that wasn’t jammed packed.

Some of her crew headed East, some entirely the opposite. All taking a share with an end goal in mind; money. The Captain of the crew however, headed North alone. Uphill where her meeting with fellow shady tradesmen were, she had a violet heirloom to sell, worthy, as she pressed her lips into a darkish grimace, resting the necklace on her lips. Only she had the vocabulary and attitude to sway and persuade them to buy. The rest of the crew couldn’t be trusted, they’d be manipulated into selling it for 90% less its worth. 

Her nemesis was going to kill her at the sight of his precious valuable the Empress knighted him with, be sold.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

‘’…send in your skeletons, that is all the empire demands of you! She will see that you sing the ‘’Hymns of the Tyrant’’ until your dying day. As your bones go marching in brainlessly to fight for a cause not beneficial to any of us. Why do we allow this?’ A man not short of eight foot propped himself onto a stack of crates, face blanked to the cloak hood ridden over his eyes and shielding his face from an identity. Almost stumbling as he regained his balance on the self-made podium. His voice grew louder as she found herself in his passing radar. It was a surprise nobody removed this nuisance earlier.

''What a clown,'' She thought, as she leaned on one of the pillars of a building, a few meters away. He stood behind a statue twice his height, the Saint of Swords. A woman outstretching a sword, almost as if it was pointing at her and enticing her to step forward. But for now she had not. All she had done was spectate. Not wanting to put herself in the limelight as a brainless follower but close enough to watch him be beaten to a pulp. 

The corner of her eye observed the approaching of two subjugulators making their way up the hill she just climbed. She could spare to be late for the trade if something this juicy was going to unfold. 

‘’But at the end of each of our lives we all perish the same, we all become skeletons with the same structure and anatomy.’’ His hands were flailing around frantically, the sight of his desperation could make anyone die of second hand embarrassment and yet, still he persisted to those who had shun his thoughts. Still oblivious to the oncoming threat too.

‘’Would you all rather use your bones to fight for your right to live, or surrender yourself to a world that only uses you?’’ He questioned, preaching the same old thing to the handful choir who’d acted if they’d been buying into it this entire time. 

People would glare at him; he was scaring off potential buyers. Olives and Teal bloods would shake their heads, walking off and the Highbloods would momentarily stop to be entertained, treating it like stand-up comedy before leaving again. Soon it was only a mix of the lower castes, nodding but realising the impossibility of it all. Even they were tiring of it, awaiting until their lunch was over before retiring to their slave labor. 

‘’ ….you can change the definition of this world. You are all worthy of so much more.’’ Each string of words became more desperate; it became a plea for attention falling short. His hands retired, dropping them in admit of defeat for the day. Almost as if the people were slipping from his hands, he could feel them grow uninterested. 

Without a reason, her legs had the mind of their own, slowly clunking in her boots towards him. Even his words broke off, eyeing as the concrete built blueblood walked towards him. 

She could see in his eyes; he was preparing to flee. How many times had he seen an ominous figure glare at him from afar, before pursuing to bring him down? She wondered at what step she took that he’d run for the hills from fright.

She saw something else in his eyes too. Something she could only confirm with a closer look behind that cloak.

Five steps, six. Her hat titled upwards, feather lightly brushing to the wind. It was a slower version of a car chase, calling bluff on who’d steer off into the forest first; the odds were always going to be him. Yet his stance was tall, he had to leave a statement. If he hadn’t stood up to the presence of a highblood when he had spoken of doing so, they’d consider him another fraud.

The crowd had gathered around again. Fixating their attention at his defiance. Assuming a cerulean blood was out to teach him for his misconduct. Watching him, then at her, then at him and to her. Like a ball in a tennis match as they exchanged silent discussion with their poker faces. 

It was far from her who’d been intending to annihilate him for his verbose words, however.  
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

‘’DIDN’T WE TELL YA JUST LAST WEEK TA BUGGER OFF FROM ‘ERE.’’ A third party boomed, breaking their attention from each other to look simultaneously at the approaching beasts.

‘’LOOKS LIKE WE’LL HAVE TA BEAT IT INTO YA!’’ An eleven feet tall, hunched back with jaggered horns propelled their spiked juggling pin weapon in their direction. Intending to strike a blow without even consorting with the other in their duo clan. Sending them both ducking in sudden retaliation. She couldn’t deny that she didn’t see that one coming. Though the other was looking shell-shocked at the onslaught of violence.

Before she could draw her sword the other broke off into a tangent, yanking the weapon off of her. What the hell was he doing? They were faced with two hunchbacks trained to tear them apart in an instance and here he was, correcting them on the construction of the hemocaste and listing all things unfair of a society unable to achieve even the right to speak freely and sliding her sword away at the decline of violence. 

‘’THE ONLY THING ABOUT BLOOD YA SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT RIGHT AS NOW IS KEEPING BOTH YA PUTRID BLOOD IN YOUR OWN BODY!’’ What? Her eyes lit up in aghast. This was all a misunderstanding, they clearly thought the pirate was apart of his heretics. This was the first time she was actually innocent of the charges accused of her and yet the only time she was being caught convicted of conspiring against the empire. Go figure. 

‘’Ey bos-s, I wonder what blood colour the grey cloaked one ha-s. Seem-s awful keen on hiding it.’’ The indigo questioned, the purple blood pinning the infidel by the arms as the other went in for a dig. Dismissing the pirate all the while; what a terrible mistake on their behalf. Any sight of a fight and she was fueled to partake in it. 

Him being pinned, left room for her to stealth her way behind the blueblood who stood in a position ready to aim for a punch. She made sure he punched the infidel first, to ensure that he wouldn’t use his fist to assault her when he turned around. The roar of outrage put her off guard. She used it as a gun shot to initiate her attack. 

Slamming the back of the indigo blooded legs into a kneeling position with her heel alone left her with a height advantage. Leaving no room for retaliation, she locked his neck in a crippling choke hold. Reducing their air intake, refusing to let go unless her proclaimed ‘’ally’’ in all of this was let loose.

She pushed the Subjugulator assistant on the floor once complied. They were still clearly dazed by the reduced amount of oxygen and her strength in general; the audience she wasn’t even aware of crowding around even let out a gasp as she sent them flying with a forceful heave, to topple on the floor to regain consciousness. 

Though this was far from the end, even as the preacher stood alongside her regaining his breath himself, more was to come as the opposer dragged his foot on the soil like a bull read to charge.

‘’Give me your cloak.’’ She demanded, while spinning him around to take it off. After all he had been hit with, it was only this moment where a curse emit from his mouth at the strange order. 

The enemy gripped his own fist, not taking being beaten by a blueblood down very kindly and as one last attempt to regain some dignity, charged at her for the triumph of both his and the Indigo’s sake. 

What can only be described as a fleeting elegant swoop, as the Captain jolted to the statue. Swinging the material over the out stretched cement sword in the statues hand. Propelling herself into a gallant swing and kicking him in the chest. Sending him hurdling into a stall. Their body breaking its wooden frame as she ascended into the air and onto her feet like a gymnastic on a horizontal bar coming to its decent.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

As she rushed through the crowd to flee, she took a hold of her discarded sword and absconded back to the harbor. Unfortunately she wouldn’t get to her destination, he had followed her and intervened from her seeing that through. Grabbing her wrist and pulling her into an abandon alley with a canon-full of questions ready to fire. 

‘’You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?’’ His eyebrows furrowed, almost confused to the response he so rarely received. Her words fell short, though her eyes gave him an answer he had been hopeful to hear. To know that she saw it too. His vision didn’t fall on loneliness after all.

‘’The caste cannot 8e 8roken; it is encoded in our species. Yet my crew of all walks of life work together for the same common goal, bringing upheaval against Imperials. I know of what you speak; even if it 8e of a minuscule scale to your own.’’ It sounded a little preachy herself, it was true however, even if a little over-exaggerated. Most of her crew were brutal murderers, working alongside her only because the Empires force and slave labor was worse than the conditions of a ship. 

"Dismantling Imperial vessels? You’re a pirate?" Two and two were adding to his face. Her brutish fighting style, to her strong build. She’d been fighting higherbloods all her life. Even her outfit gave the vibes of rum and sea-salt. How could he be so blind?

His thoughts ceased. Growing resentment at the statement. ‘’If the caste was ‘’nature’’ then explain why you aided me, when you could have took the sword and fled? Is this not your conscious telling you something better awaits you, awaits us?’’

A grimace provoked her lips to a smile at the thought, ‘’Treasures are much 8etter received when earned. I much enjoy the Darwinian way of living.’’

‘’ You’re a pretender. ’’ He cursed, rejecting her claim like rotten food. Perhaps one part of him was right, though only fate could permit an answer for the both of them. ‘’What if I say I’m not like the others?’’ The cloak unveiled his face, bruised a little red where hit, desperate a last shot to coax her over to understand. The light illuminating a strong jawline and weary eyes of seeing a cold world for too long. Beyond that a more striking discovery she was acquainted with set her pushers limit in curiosity and agog. 

Ruby jeweled eyes, like seen no other. Her heart ceased temporarily, as if uncovering a rare artifact. Unable to drift her eightfold away. He seemed to be doing the same, to her left, scrutinizing each other. In that moment of limbo, all was lit in a new light. Nothing was as it seemed. 

‘’What if I said I’d never surrender? We can use someone who can steer and fight like you do. Get the message around. They’re more likely to believe we are capable of something with you on our side.’’ Even if he looked like he was alone, he kept referring as if there were others. She couldn’t help but be a little interested in the discovery. Even if she’d never meet their acquaintance, he could always tell her about them she supposed. The thought of being apart of something bigger, struck the pirates interest like a jackpot. Imagine the eternal glorification. 

‘’That doesn’t answer what you want me to do.’’ She cocked an eyebrow up at him, a little in disbelief at everything that had just been thrown at her. He eventually smiled, nudging her to look behind her. 

On the alley wall there were an assortment of old mug shots, but especially two who sat alongside each other and awaiting capture. The Captain Marquise Spinneret Mindfang and the Iron Infidel for their crimes against the Empire. It looked like destiny gave her its answer on what to do.

Without hesitance he extended an arm. ‘’I want you to….trust me.’’ How could she decline fates plan? She took it, pulling him in and grimacing. It looked like selling her kismesis heirloom was going to have to wait for another day.


End file.
